Happiness in Education

Susana Sanchez

                                              Happiness in Education

                              Happiness can be very difficult to find in education when emotions take over our mind .My bad emotions towards education can reflect on how I feel and think about my education. It’s as if my emotions and feelings have a mind of their own!
                             I have been attending school for the past fourteen years of my life. In school we were taught how to read and write, how to add and subtract and best of all they even taught us how to color. There are times where school can become interesting with the many things you can learn but there are also times where it can get so frustrating.   To begin the search of finding happiness in education can be by eliminating the negative habits I may have as a student.  Three bad habits I have are: fear of failure, stress   and also lack of focus. These are the three undesirable habits that have become the boundaries between happiness in education. I think that education is very essential in a person’s life; if we lose interest on education we wouldn't be able to enjoy education which is necessary in order to succeed.
                          The fear of failure takes over my body when I see a low grade. When I have to take tests I begin to presence fear. Even if I studied for the test a day before my mind will blank out. I feel I have no control over this fear, it’s like my emotions do as they please! A few days ago I took a psychology test and I studied the entire week; I was sure I was going to pass. The day of the test as I sat in the room and I begin to read the first question.  I didn't know anything at all.  .As a result I failed. Since my major is nursing I can’t afford to fail a test so I had to find a solution. My solution to this problem is to gain confidence or meditate before the Test. Confidence will give me the courage I need to pass with flying colors. I think Meditating can also help because it helps the person gain peace and calm into the body and mind, it will help me get rid of the fear towards getting a low grade on the test and failing.
          Stress is an emotion I obtain when school work is complicated. In” Happier" by Tal Ben- Shahar , He writes, “The drowning model shows two things: the desire to free ourselves of pain can be a strong motivator and that, once freed, we can easily mistake our relief for happiness” (83). I find myself agreeing with Shahar’s way of thinking. For example English class is very difficult for me. It might not even be the class but the work. when we were assigned to write this blog I thought it would be pretty simple to write about myself  but as I brainstorm what to write I begin to feel stressed because I have no ideas. I had no clue what I was going to write about .In this situation the stress I’m feeling is leading me into the drowning model. The reason why I find myself experiencing the drowning model is because the stress I feel   encourages me to  me to finish my paper .After i finish writing this paper i might feel a slight relief but it doesnt mean its happiness. In order to find happiness in education the best suggestion i can give myself is to avoid stress. When i can’t suceed my first feeling can’t be stress because I have to give it my best try.
             Here is my worst habit lack of focus. I think I find myself in this situation when I don’t find what am doing interesting. A good example of my lack of focus would be in an in social studies class. While am there I lose focus and think about anything. My mind is just not where its suppose to be. Social studies don’t grab my attention. To have happiness in education the best choice is to do something you enjoy doing. What I enjoy doing the most is  exercising ; If I exercise before a social studies class or any other class I don’t like very much  I will find myself in the best condition to proceed without being distracted or losing focus during class  . In Ken Robinson’s speech, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” He talks about a girl. Her teachers thought that she had a learning disorder because she had to “move to think”. What the teacher didn’t know was she loved to dance and when she joined musical theater where she found people like her. She was pleased because she was doing something she liked which was dancing. I also enjoy dancing so if I do what I enjoy the most I will feel happier.                        
           In conclusion education is a necessity. In order for people to get further in life. Many people have dreams of becoming doctors, police officers, teachers, fire fighters, nurses, etc; the only way to make to it through life is by using education to fill us with knowledge. Education might not be the most wonderful thing but where would we be without it?  Happiness in the world is also necessary so if you are your not   you need to find a solution as soon as possible.  Bringing happiness into education is going to help us have a better life.